Biden promises Black woman nominee to SCOTUS as Justice Breyer announces retirement: recap
Biden promises Black woman nominee to SCOTUS as Justice Breyer announces retirement: recap
January 30, 2022
Hawaii
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer at a White House event, praising the liberal jurist as a “model public servant” and vowing to move swiftly to name his successor.
“I think he’s a model public servant, in a time of great division in this country,” Biden said.
Biden, who pledged to name a Black woman to the high court, said he planned to name his nominee by the end of February.
At 83, Breyer is the second-most senior associate justice, and his retirement was encouraged by liberals who wanted to ensure Biden’s nominee would benefit from a Senate controlled by Democrats.
The president said he would seek out advice from both parties and leading scholars, meet with potential candidates and carefully study their former cases before making his decision over the next month. But he vowed to name an “historic candidate” who is “worthy of Justice Breyer’s legacy.”
Biden, who presided over Breyer’s confirmation as the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee nearly three decades ago, called Breyer’s retirement “bittersweet.”
“We all had high hopes for the mark he would leave on the history of law and the Constitution,” he recalled. “And he’s exceeded those hopes in every possible way.”
What’s next:Breyer retirement lays groundwork for historic nomination of first Black woman to Supreme Court
NPR recently reported that Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who has diabetes, has been avoiding in-person oral arguments and other meetings because she is not comfortable being close to people who are unmasked. Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch has consistently not worn a mask at arguments — the only member of the court to decline to do so.
Sotomayor and Gorsuch released a statement last week saying they are “warm colleagues and friends.”
By all accounts Breyer doesn’t appear to have ever been caught up in whatever drama may exist behind the curtain. While not a swing vote, Breyer has long been viewed as a bridge between the ideological factions on the court — able to find compromise with some of his more conservative colleagues. He has written books about the importance of civility to the court as an institution.
“His passion never manifests itself in anger,” said the newest member of the Supreme Court, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett. “Both in print and in person, Steve aims to persuade through exuberance rather than bite. He is a model of civility.”
— John Fritze
Psaki: Lack of Black women on Supreme Court does not equal lack of qualified candidates
The fact that no Black women have ever been nominated for the Supreme Court is not an indication of a lack of qualified candidates, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.
Instead, she said, it “shows a deficiency of the past selection processes.”
“The president’s view is that it is long past time to have a Black woman on the Supreme Court,” she said.
Psaki had been asked whether Biden’s requirement that his nominee be a Black woman is “reverse racism” or otherwise inappropriate.
Psaki said that, in addition to nominat a record number of Black women to serve on the lower courts, Biden has also put forward “the highest level of Ivy League nominees.”
“He has nominated a broad sway of extremely qualified, experienced and credentialed nominees,” she said, “and done that by also making them incredibly diverse.”
— Maureen Groppe
Breyer ‘hand delivered’ resignation letter to Biden
Psaki declined to say when Biden was made aware of Breyer’s decision but revealed that the liberal jurist hand-delivered his formal resignation letter to the president this morning before the official White House event.
Psaki said the White House would lay out more detail about when Biden learned of Breyer’s decision.
— Courtney Subramanian
Psaki takes aim at Republicans as she points to no public short list to replace Breyer
White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded to Republican criticism of Biden’s potential pick to succeed Breyer, emphasizing the White House has yet to reveal a list of potential nominees.
“We have not mentioned a single name. We have not put out a list,” she said. “If anyone is saying they plan to characterize whoever he nominates, after thorough consideration with both parties, as radical before they knew literally anything about who she is, they just obliterated their own credibility.”
Psaki’s comments came after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., released a statement saying Biden “must not outsource this important decision to the radical left.”
She said Biden is grateful to Republican members who have already indicated they plan to work with him.
Asked when the White House plans to release Biden’s short list, Psaki said declined to provide a timeline and repeated Biden is reviewing potential candidates.
— Courtney Subramanian
‘Long overdue’:Biden reiterates vow to name first Black woman to Supreme Court
What Biden has said about filling vacancies on the nation’s highest court
— Chelsey Cox
Justice Stephen Breyer’s notable majority opinions and dissents, from abortion to the death penalty
You can read more about Judge Jackson here.
— John Fritze
More:Who is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson? For starters, she once clerked for Justice Breyer
‘Stealthy’ Justice Stephen Breyer had a big impact on abortion. That legacy is now in jeopardy
How Justice Stephen Breyer changed the Supreme Court
Biden to announce decision before the end of February
Biden said it’s his intention to announce his decision for Breyer’s successor before the end of February.
“I have made no choice at this point,” the president said, noting that he plans to invite senators from both parties, leading scholars and lawyers and advisers like Vice President Kamala Harris to offer their points of view.
“In the end, I will nominate a historic candidate, someone who is worthy of Justice Breyer’s legacy.”
— Courtney Subramanian
Biden praises Breyer’s legacy
Biden said Breyer exceeded the hopes for him, when he was appointed to the court, “in every possible way.”
In particular, Biden praised Breyer for seeking common ground to bring colleagues together on opinions Biden called Breyer’s opinions practical, sensible and nuanced.
Breyer knew the job of a judge is not to law down the law, but to “get it right,” Biden said. He “gave faith to the notion that the law exists to help the people,” Biden added.
Beyer called Biden’s remarks “terribly nice.”
— Maureen Groppe
Biden confirms he will nominate first Black woman to SCOTUS
President Joe Biden reiterated Thursday he will nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in the nation’s history.
“It’s long overdue,” Biden said at the White House in an event with Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring later this year. “I will keep that commitment.”
Biden, who said he is already reviewing candidates, said he would announce a candidate before the end of February.
— John Fritze
Biden on Breyer: ‘Today is his day’
Biden called Breyer a “model public servant in a time of great division in this country,” adding that he’s “everything his country could have asked.”
“Today is his day – our day to commend his life of service and his life on the court,” Biden, before going into what he wants from a nominee to replace him.
— Joey Garrison
Biden ‘proud and grateful’ to witness Breyer’s career
Biden, a former senator who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it was “my honor” to vote to confirm Breyer to the U.S. Court of Appeals first in 1980 and later preside over his Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 1994.
He said the pair joked before his remarks about how Biden would be president when he decided to retire.
“I was proud and grateful to be there at the start of his distinguished career in the Supreme Court,” Biden said. “And I’m very proud to be here today on this announcement of his retirement.”
— Courtney Subramanian
Biden, Breyer begin remarks
President Joe Biden and Associate Justice Stephen Beyer have entered the Roosevelt Room at the White House, where the two will formally announce Breyer’s retirement.
“This is sort of a bittersweet day for me,” Biden said. “Justice Breyer and I go back a long way.”
— John Fritze
What is the process for Supreme Court nominations?
The process for replacing a Supreme Court justice always is closely watched, but it will take on new intrigue in the divided Senate, where Democrats have struggled to unify behind Biden’s agenda.
The Senate is split evenly between the two parties, with Vice President Kamala Harris acting as the tie-breaking vote. While Democrats control the chamber, moderate senators in the party have stopped several pieces of legislation the Biden administration has championed.
‘Stealthy’ Justice Stephen Breyer had a big impact on abortion. That legacy is now in jeopardy
— John Fritze
Republicans could delay, but not block Biden’s Supreme Court pick if all Democrats back nominee
Republicans could delay the confirmation of Biden’s pick to replace Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, but they won’t be able to block it by themselves if all Democrats unite behind a nominee.
Under Senate rules that GOP lawmakers changed several years ago, a simple majority is all that’s needed to approve a presidential nomination to the country’s highest court.
That means the 50 Democrats could push through Biden’s pick with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking 51st vote, a fact acknowledged by South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Judiciary Committee that will hold hearings on the eventual nominee.
“If all Democrats hang together – which I expect they will – they have the power to replace Justice Breyer in 2022 without one Republican vote in support,” he tweeted Wednesday shortly after news of Breyer’s retirement broke.
Read the whole story here:Republicans could delay, but not block Biden’s Supreme Court pick if all Democrats back nominee
